sunny@hoptoad.UUCP (04/24/87)
I'm a charter subscriber to this magazine. They're
real good at soliciting early renewals, offering a
discount for same. I went for one... net result?
2 subscriptions. Month after month, I write them,
telling them I expect to get one copy for a year
longer, not 2 copies for a year. They can't find
my duplicate subscriptions. My mailing labels don't
show extended expiration date. Round and round.
I told them I don't expect to pay for the duplicates,
they can bloody well extend my original subscription
for a year or I'll never send them any more money,
and I can do without their magazine if they don't.
Combine this with Chuqui's warning about authoring
for them, and it's obvious they're constipated
on both ends... input and output.
Now children... turn to chapter 11...
Sunny
--
Sunny Kirsten
Astral Consultants
(415)457-7555
POB 459
Forest Knolls, CA 94933
USENET: {sun,ptsfa,well,lll-crg,ihnp4,ucsfcgl,nsc,frog}!hoptoad!sunnychuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (04/24/87)
>I'm a charter subscriber to this magazine. They're >real good at soliciting early renewals, offering a >discount for same. I went for one... net result? >2 subscriptions. >Combine this with Chuqui's warning about authoring >for them, and it's obvious they're constipated >on both ends... input and output. Well, improvement here may be in sight, Sunny. MacUser has just changed subscription fufillment houses effective with the most recent mailing. Be aware that the magazine has NOTHING to do with subscription administrivia, other than setting prices -- it is all done by nameless folks in windowless buildings in places like Marion, Ohio or Boulder, Colorado. Anyway, I noticed that they've switched from the #2 fufillment house (with which I've had running battles over subscriptions over the years) to the folks in Boulder. This means, among other things, that Change of Address requests shipped in the last two months have probably been trashed, but that all of the subscription problems will slowly fade. Hopefully. The folks in Boulder handle all the major magazines, and last I heard, shipped over 1,000,000 pieces of mail per day out of their center. Rather amazing thought, that. Anyway, get the NEW address and the NEW phone number off the MacUser and start plugging away again. chuq Chuq Von Rospach chuq@sun.COM [I don't read flames] There is no statute of limitations on stupidity
su01#@andrew.cmu.edu (Stu Uleman) (04/25/87)
ReSent-From: postman#@andrew.cmu.edu ReSent-To: nntp-xmit#@andrew.cmu.edu Return-path: <su01#@andrew.cmu.edu> To: outnews#ext.nn.comp.sys.mac@andrew.cmu.edu In-Reply-To: <2039@hoptoad.uucp> I had this happen to me once, too. It was my fault that time, since I had sent in for the free Power-User-Manual. But anyway, I wound up with two subscriptions for a while. Look in your MacUser, and you should find a toll-free number to call about subscriptions (1-800-MAC-USER, I think). I called them up and explained my dilemma to them, and they fixed me up. No letters, no half-year double subscription. And they were real nice about it, too. --Stu
cccmark@ucdavis.UUCP (Mark Nagel) (04/25/87)
I, too, have had my share of troubles with MacUser. The stupid part is that
I like the magazine and would like to read it. They just don't seem to want to
cooperate. I ordered a subscription from them and they started sending the
magazine (actually it was the second time I asked -- they ignored the first).
They also sent an invoice which I sent back with my VISA number. I got the
magazine for 2 or 3 months and then they sent a letter that said I never paid
and I would not be receiving MacUser anymore. Well, I received my VISA
statement last week and sure enough, they billed me for it. I wrote them a
letter, but with their history with me and the letters I've seen here recently,
I certainly am not optimistic.
--
- Mark Nagel
"Don't ever let anything mechanical know you are in a hurry."
ucdavis!deneb!cccmark@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (ARPA)
mdnagel@ucdavis (BITNET)
...!{sdcsvax|lll-crg|ucbvax}!ucdavis!deneb!cccmark (UUCP)
Disclaimer: If you were my employer would *you* be responsible for my
opinions?db@cbosgd.ATT.COM (The Thinking Man's Andy Rooney) (04/26/87)
Speaking of MacUser subscriptions, I renewed last fall with the understanding that I'd get the wonderful Power User's Guide (which, it recently dawned on me, never came). Did anyone else have this problem [and get it resolved]? Fortunately, I had not yet phoned/written when the switch in subscription houses came about, so there was no waste of effort, postage, etc. Unfortunately, with the change in houses, the 800 number for calling about subscription problems, etc., seems to have disappeared (I didn't see one printed in recent issues; so much for "quick" resolution to my complaint). Anybody have any word about this? Dave Bursik/..cbosgd!db
larryb@bcsaic.UUCP (Larry Baum) (04/28/87)
In article <2039@hoptoad.uucp> sunny@hoptoad.UUCP (Sunny Kirsten) writes: >I'm a charter subscriber to this magazine. They're >real good at soliciting early renewals, offering a >discount for same. I went for one... net result? >2 subscriptions. Month after month, I write them, ... When I subscribed, the first two issues I received were old; i.e. I subscribed in November. In December I received the Oct, Nov and Dec issues all within the space of a week. LSB -- * The opinions expresses are not necessarily those of my employer *
lonetto@phri.UUCP (Michael Lonetto) (04/30/87)
In article <380@ucdavis.UUCP> cccmark@deneb.UUCP (Mark Nagel) writes: >I, too, have had my share of troubles with MacUser. The stupid part is that >I like the magazine and would like to read it. They just don't seem to want to >cooperate. I ordered a subscription from them and they started sending the >magazine (actually it was the second time I asked -- they ignored the first). >They also sent an invoice which I sent back with my VISA number. I got the >magazine for 2 or 3 months and then they sent a letter that said I never paid >and I would not be receiving MacUser anymore. Well, I received my VISA >statement last week and sure enough, they billed me for it. I wrote them a >letter, but with their history with me and the letters I've seen here recently, >I certainly am not optimistic. >>- Mark Nagel I had similar problems (not the least of which was that they started my subsciption with the November issue, at the end of December). I wouldn't worry about the threatening letter. By the time they get around to cancelling your subscription they'll figure out that you've paid for it, at least that's what seems to have happened in my case. Michael Lonetto UUCP:(allegra!phri!lonetto) USMAIL: Public Health Research Institute, 455 1st Ave, NY, NY 10016
gasp@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Isaac Kohane) (04/30/87)
>When I subscribed, the first two issues I received were old; i.e. I >subscribed in November. In December I received the Oct, Nov and Dec >issues all within the space of a week. I have had a similar experience. In November I received three issues, including those of the previous two months. I suppose this is an easy way to cause subscriptions to be renewed early :-( -ISK
lad@eplrx7.UUCP (Lawrence A. Dziegielewski) (05/01/87)
In article <7078@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, gasp@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Isaac Kohane) writes: > > > > >When I subscribed, the first two issues I received were old; i.e. I > >subscribed in November. In December I received the Oct, Nov and Dec > >issues all within the space of a week. > > I have had a similar experience. In November I received three issues, > including those of the previous two months. I suppose this is an easy way > to cause subscriptions to be renewed early :-( This has happened to me too! I thought I was the only one. Back in November I sent in a subscription to MacUser. About a week later a bill arrived and the note inside said I would be receiving my first issues in about a week or two. True to the note, the first issue arrived. When I got the wrapper off it said 'AUGUST 1986'. Well, I was ticked off a bit. I called the 800 number at MacUser and told them my story. The woman at the other end of the phone told me that she was sorry I had received a back issue and she'd see what she could do. About a week later I got another issue, this time the September 1986 issue. After another call to User I got to speak to a guy that told me I should be happy I was getting back issues. He said, and I quote, "You should be gald, we normally charge more for back issues". I hung up. After another 3 weeks and two more issues (November and Decmeber) I got a note from the MacUser subscription dept saying my payment was past due. I wrote a nice letter back explaining my plight and sent it off. Another month later I got yet another PAST DUE notice. This time I fired off a scathing flame to MacUser. That got another PAST DUE notice, only this time they said 'we're stopping delivery to you as of this issue'. Thank God, I thought. That was the last I heard from MacUser. At this point I cannot and do not recommend that anyone subscribe. Until, that is, they start shipping current issues. Lawrence A. Dziegielwski E.I. DuPont Co. UUCP: {dgis, psuvax1}!eplrx7!lad Engineering Physics Lab GENIE: LARRY.DSKI Wilm, DE Cash-We-Serve: 76127,104 MCIMAIL: idt